The Costco Connection

TRAVELCONNECTION

PETER GREENBERG

Peter Greenberg is the multiple–Emmy Award– winning travel editor for CBS News and host of The Travel Detective on public television

( petergreenberg.com).

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AT THE INTERSECTION of the mountains and the sea, surrounded by a calm bay, Puerto Vallarta (PV) was once a small, sleepy fishing village. And although it’s grown and is no longer sleeping, it still feels small and manageable, with a great set of authentic experiences.

Playa de los Muertos, the most popular beach, runs about a mile south, and is lined with back-to-back restaurants. It’s home to a constant parade of joggers, bikers and street vendors, plus lots of restaurants, bars and outdoor music. You can even find barbecued fish on a stick.

One of the best things about the PV area is that the food remains simple—and fun. Look for all the home-based luncherias, food trucks or towed trailers that are open each evening, serving great, inexpensive, regional fare. Ask the locals where the nearest luncherias might be; they move around.

Want a more hands-on food experience? Try Miriam’s Mexican Kitchen (miriamsmexicankitchen. com). Chef Miriam Flores grew up in a small town near Puerto Vallarta, and learned to cook from her grandmother. And you don’t just eat with Flores; she can teach you to cook like a local with a variety of classes offered, from authentic tacos and enchiladas, to mole (mo-lay) chicken, to classic Mexican street foods like remolacha, a beet-based treat.

Another treat is culinary touring with Eric Wichner ( vallartaeats.com), who leads food tours of the region. And, as long as you’re not driving, try his Mexican beer tour.

For a special beach experience, hire a local, explain that you want to head south to the smaller beaches accessible only by boat, and you’ll have a beach more or less to yourself.

Riviera Nayarit

North of PV, the Riviera Nayarit is a 192-mile
stretch of coastline, backed by jungle-clad moun-
tains and facing offshore islands.

The Riviera Nayarit is home to solitary beaches and towns with an extraordinary natural heritage, such as Flamingos, where you’ll find not one but three beautiful lakes; Bucerias, with a long beach and cobblestone streets; La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, a small fishing town; Destiladeras, a destination for more experienced surfers; and Islas Marieta, an ecological preserve.

Looking for serious biodiversity? Try the port of San Blas (in the Riviera Nayarit’s northern section); you can tour the Tovara mangrove swamps, then head to Isla Isabel. On the boat, you might see whale sharks (some as long as 49 feet), which swim very close to the surface; they also swim quite slowly, so bring your camera.

There are many culinary options along the Riviera Nayarit: Luxury hotels and restaurants serve gourmet dishes prepared with fresh seafood, often with a creative twist—say, shrimp meatballs or aguachile, seafood with a spicy lime kick—or a pre-Hispanic touch. At the beach and the town, visitors can try delicacies such as shrimp tamales and my favorite, marlin tacos.

If you like to volunteer, the Grupo Ecológico de la Costa Verde ( project-tortuga.org) works to save leatherback and olive ridley turtles. You can get involved, especially when these prehistoric turtles come up on the beach to lay their eggs. (Just be sure to take a nap that day, as the turtle activity usually happens around 1 or 2 in the morning.)